Highlander Folk School 2E 75
N 35° 15.074 W 085° 48.235
16S E 608812 N 3901560
Marker found in Monteagle, Tennessee on 41-A before the Tracy City City Limits.
Waymark Code: WM2570
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 09/06/2007
Views: 22
Highlander Folk School
1932-1962
In 1932, Myles Horton and Don West founder Highlander Folk School, located 1/2 mile north of this site. It quickly became one of the few schools in the South committed to the cause of organized labor, economic justice, and an end to racial segregation. Courses included labor issues, literacy, leadership, and non-violent desegregation strategies, with workshops led by Septima Clark. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and Eleanor Roosevelt found inspiration for the modern civil rights movement there. Opponents of its causes tried to close the school.
Following a 1959-60 trial in Grundy County, the State of Tennessee revoked the school's charter. It was adjudged to have violated segregation laws, sold beer without a license, and conveyed property to Myles Horton for his home. When the sheriff padlocked the school, Horton proclaimed Highlander to be an idea rather than a group of buildings, adding: "You can't padlock an idea." In a 1979 Ford Foundation Report, Highlander was singled out as the most notable American experiment in adult education for social change.
Marker Name: Highlander Folk School
Marker Location: Roadside
Type of Marker: Building
Marker Number: 2E 75
Group(s) Responsible for placing Marker:
Tennessee Historical Commission
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